Every year, at this time, the same questions pop up again: When is my Zakat due? Should I count in the Islamic calendar or in the Gregorian calendar? What is a Haul and how does it start? If you’ve ever thought about googling “when is my zakat due” in the dead of the night, then you’re in the right place.
Well this all sorts of opens up, but basically zakat has to do with the Islamic lunar calendar and it’s related to the completion of one full ḥawl cycle on wealth that has accumulated to or surpassed the niṣāb level. Let me clarify a bit on what that actually means for you.
Zakat Is Based on the Lunar Year, Not the Solar Year
قدم الزكاة مره اوสอง واقول بالخد عشان نتعامل بداية : الزكاة لا تسئ according to hijri calender So the first thing you should take into consideration is that the zakat is calculated according to the hijri calender not the solar calendar. So what is the difference. A lunar year is about 354 days. Which is shorter then the 365 days solar year. The solar year has 365 days and the extra day we add to make it a full year is an extra day and it’s not a leap year it just takes an extra day.
That 11-day gap may not seem like much but it has added up. Many have been calculating their Zakat anniversary using the solar calendar, thinking the two calendar years are fairly similar in length. Thus, an inaccuracy of 11 days was being introduced year after year. Islamic jurists have unanimously agreed that the term “year” mentioned in zakat rules refers to a lunar year. And therefore, it follows that the anniversary of zakat would also refer to a lunar anniversary.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “There is no zakat on wealth until one year passes over it.” ( Reported in Sunan Abi Dawud and Sunan Ibn Majah.) That year is the Hijri year — and that’s the standard Islamic scholarship has upheld for centuries.
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What Is Ḥawl, and Why Does It Matter?
Ḥawl is the word for completing a full lunar year. So in the context of zakat the rules work as follows: As soon as your zakatable assets or possessions reach or exceed the niṣāb then your Ḥawl begins. And then all you have to do is simply wait for a Ḥawl or lunar year to pass. And then, by Islamic law, zakat becomes obligatory.
The Hijri date of when your wealth first exceeded the Niṣāb threshold is your Zakat anniversary. Your Zakat anniversary will be on the same Hijri date every year as long as your wealth remains above the Niṣāb threshold.
What Is a Zakat Anniversary?
Your zakat anniversary is the Hijri date each year that you take time to calculate your total zakatable wealth and give out 2.5% of it. Treat this date as your zakat due date — the annual, recurring, date that is part of the Islamic lunar calendar.
Let's take a practical example: if your wealth reached the niṣāb level on 10th Ramaḍān in 1445 AH, then your zakat anniversary would be the 10th of Ramaḍān every year thereafter. This date will not change. It would only change if your wealth falls below niṣāb and remains below that level. In that case, your ḥawl (yearly period) would start over again when your wealth surpasses nisab.
Muslim scholars in today’s age often recommend choosing a single zakat anniversary and sticking to it. It eliminates the unnecessary complication of tracking more than one zakat anniversary. This simplifies the annual zakat obligation to an extent that one can easily keep track of it.
What Happens If My Wealth Goes Up or Down During the Year?
One of the most frequently asked questions is “When my account is depleted and I deposit money does my new amount require me to start a new 30 month cycle for Zakat?” The answer to this question is simple. The answer is no.
When your ḥawl commences, all wealth that you earn or acquire for the remainder of the year will be taken into account when determining your end-of-year savings level. If your savings have the tendency to fall below niṣāb temporarily but return to the niṣāb level, then your ḥawl continues uninterrupted. Your ḥawl will only be restarted if your wealth actually falls below niṣāb and remains in that state — and the varying opinions of the scholars indicate that there is some period of time that it must remain below the niṣāb level.
Remember that zakat is about giving what you have at a particular time. So there is no need to overthink any slight increases or decreases from year to year. For each zakat anniversary date, just count and give what you have.
Why So Many Muslims Pay Zakat in Ramaḍān (And Why That’s Fine)
Ramaḍān has become the default zakat season for many Muslims and there are a few reasons for this. The rewards of charitable acts are multiplied in Ramaḍān, it is far easier to remember to pay zakat in Ramaḍān and the social pressure to give during this period is usually much higher.
Many of us assume that our Zakat is due during the blessed month of Ramadan, but that is not necessarily the case. Our Zakat anniversary is linked to when our wealth first reached the level of niṣāb, and that may well occur in a different month. The Islamic calendar has 12 months, and it is possible that one or more of the months may fall after our Zakat anniversary. Therefore, it is important to note that Ramaḍān is not a Zakat date. Our Zakat anniversary could well occur in the months of Shaʼbān, Muharram, Dhul-Ḥijjah or any other month. What is important is that we observe consistency in our giving.
If you have any specific requirements or preferences for your zakat anniversary, and you wish to coincide your zakat payments with the month of Ramaḍān for any personal or religious reasons, the majority of scholars agree that this is permissible, provided that you are not overlooking an obligation to pay zakat which is currently due.
Read more:
Important Tips To Know About Zakat
Who Can Receive Zakat? The 8 Categories (Asnaf) with Modern Examples
Zakat on Debt: Rules for Receivables and Deductible Liabilities | Musaffa Academy
Lunar Year vs Solar Year: Does the Rate Change?
There is a discussion on the internet as to what happens when the Zakat is calculated by reference to the Gregorian calendar. As the solar year is 365 1/4 days as compared with the 12 lunar months in a calendar year, the rate would have to be adjusted. They are therefore required to adjust the rate of 2.5% by a small factor to obtain an annual rate of 2.577%.
All well and good. But for practical purposes the correct Islamic calendar is the Hijri calendar. If you are currently calculating zakat based on a solar year (12 months in the Gregorian calendar) then you should switch to the Islamic lunar calendar.
What If You Don’t Know Your Original Zakat Date?
This is more common than you’d think. Many Muslims weren’t taught to record when their wealth reached niṣāb, and that is not something to worry about.
If you really can’t recall approximate your zakat due date and then choose a Hijri date and use that as your zakat anniversary date going forward. Due to the nature of the Hijri calendar it is better to have some zakat calculation than to wait for certain knowledge. Popular choices for zakat anniversary dates are 1 Ramaḍān, 27 Ramaḍān and 1 Muharram. Any hijri date will suffice as long as you choose one.
How to Track Your Zakat Anniversary Year After Year
Staying on top of your zakat due date doesn’t have to be tricky. Here are a few ways to do so:
Use a Hijri Calendar Reminder
Most calendar apps nowadays offer the Islamic calendar. Setting an annual recurring reminder for your zakat anniversary date in the Hijri calendar is also a straightforward process. Easy.
Use a Zakat Date Calculator
A zakat date calculator can convert your original niṣāb date from the Gregorian to the Hijri calendar and also tell you the annual zakat due date. Many of the Islamic finance apps that I mentioned also include this feature.
Build an Annual Financial Review Habit
Some people on online Islamic forums chose to expand their zakat anniversary into a yearly financial check-up, when they reflect on all of their various assets, debts, accounts receivable and business earnings. So what originally began as a compulsory charitable deduction of their wealth is transformed into a ritual that strengthens both their financial management skills and their connection with Allah.
What If You Miss Your Zakat Due Date?
Life gets in the way and before you know it, another zakat anniversary rolls by and you have no idea when your last zakat was paid. Don’t worry, the zakat remains a debt and must be paid as soon as you think of it. The scholars say that delaying payment of zakat without a justified excuse is not recommended. They do not mean to say that the zakat obligation is waived or void, but rather that the payment should be made as soon as remembered. No penalty is incurred for lack of punctuality. It is simply expected that the zakat should be paid as soon as one’s mind turns to it.
Putting It All Together
Here’s the summary you can actually act on:
- Zakat is therefore governed by the lunar year - the Hijri calendar must be used and not the Gregorian calendar
- Zakat occurs on certain types of wealth when the quantity held reaches or exceeds a threshold known as niṣāb. The critical term here is Ḥawl: one full lunar year must pass on that wealth for zakat to become due on any assets equal to or greater than niṣāb.
- Your zakat anniversary is the Hijri date your wealth first crossed niṣāb — it repeats on that date every year
- Ramaḍān is not a requirement — it’s recommended and even popular, but the actual start of your ḥawl (and your due date) will vary for every woman.
- Changes in income don’t affect the start of the tax year - only decreases below the niṣāb level do
- If you can’t work out when you were born just pick a date and run with it!
- Make your zakat date calculation more reliable & consistent from one year to the next using a zakat date calculator
Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam and therefore it is important that Muslims get the timing right. Initially this can seem quite daunting, but with a little bit of practice this becomes much easier. First and foremost we need to determine what our zakat anniversary date is and the more regular we can make giving zakat, the better, as this will make the process a great deal easier. So choose a date which works for you and set an annual reminder, and in a short space of time giving zakat on a regular basis should become second nature.
May Allah accept your zakat and bless your wealth. — آمين
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Nusrat Ahmed
Danesh Ramuthi